Apostles of Doom

“So… Sister? A Sister of Tiernon, I take it?” the vampire said in a deep and resonant voice.

“Something like that,” Hilda said with a grim smile.

“So you are going to handle this?” the vampire asked, making a motion with his hands.

Hilda sighed, recognizing the motion. It was not a spell, but rather a gesture for his associates to close ranks and surround them. She twisted her fingers and muttered a short chant under her breath. After the small ritual, she could sense the five other vampires in the clearing. Correction: four other vampires and a dhampyr.

The first vampire chuckled. “I am so glad the three of you could join us for dinner!”

Hilda briefly closed her eyes to fully engage the ritual she had just performed. She needed to ensure there were no other Unlife nearby. There were none. She opened her eyes and smiled at the vampire.

“Although to be honest, you appear to be big enough to be a complete meal for all of us by yourself,” the vampire said.

“Disparaging a woman’s weight is not becoming of you. I thought vampires were supposed to be more charming than that?” Hilda said. She was, of course, not upset; she knew very well how large-boned she was. She was buying time with conversation while she secretly worked on the semantic gestures of her warding with her hands behind her back.

“You shall not get our blood without a fight,” Jacob bravely told the vampire. Hilda could sense his fear, and thus his bravery.

“Really?” The vampire looked at Jacob.

“Do not meet his eyes!” Hilda ordered. “Neither of you!”

“Ah,” the vampire sighed, turning his attention back to Hilda. “So you have some experience with vampires?”

“On Nysegard? Who does not?” Hilda asked.

“Those who gain experience with our kind typically do not have repeat encounters,” the vampire said.

“Well, in that case, I probably should make the best of this learning activity, if it is to be my last,” Hilda told the vampire, her fingers twisting in the gestures of her warding. “Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?” she asked conversationally. Jacob was staring at her as if she was nuts.

“I am Vladimir Bistent,” the vampire leader said with a nod of his head.

“Really?” Hilda asked incredulously. “That must be an assumed name!”

“Why do you say that?” The vampire glared at her angrily, his eyes now glowing red.

“Do you have any idea how many vampires I’ve met named Vladimir?” Hilda asked. “I mean, I would get it if all the dhampyrs,”—she used her head to point in the direction of the dhampyr, which caused Vladimir to blink in surprise that she knew it was there—“were named that, because maybe it was a popular baby name among vampires.” She made a tisking noise. “But you cannot expect me to believe that vampires only bite and turn people named Vladimir. It strains credulity.” She shook her head in mock exasperation, her gestures almost complete.

“Enough. I think it is time for dinner!” Vladimir started to advance, even as Hilda raised her arms over her head, spinning her body around in a circle and shouting the words of her warding in joy.

A glowing circle of light suddenly appeared around them all; the six vampires, Hilda, Rogier, Jacob and Tiber. The vampire blinked in shock and surprise, noticing the luminescent dome now arching overhead and providing late twilight-level illumination. By the sounds behind her, Hilda knew his compatriots were also turning to examine the wards.

The vampire stopped advancing, and a broad grin spread over his face as he examined the wards. He threw back his head and laughed heartily.

Hilda simply stood there, observing the vampire laughing, already working on her next move. She finally glanced at Jacob and then down at the boy, smiling at them both. “You may need to avert your eyes before too long; it may get a little gory,” she told them softly, trusting the vampire’s own laughter to drown out her words.

The vampire finally lowered his head dramatically to stare at her. “So, the Sister is really a priestess?”

Hilda tilted her head and closed her left eye tightly in an eh facial gesture. “Something… like that.”

“Well, I fear that whatever you are, you are not a very good one. Your teachers must be so disappointed. The wards are supposed to go between you and us.” The vampire shook his head, enjoying the situation.

Hilda gave him an expression of bemused wonder. “Now why would I want that?”

The vampire stopped laughing and tilted his head to stare at her, even as she gave him a bright grin and waggled her eyebrows in amusement.

“To protect you?” he finally said as if she were daft.

“Oh?” Hilda asked, pretending to be surprised. “My bad!” She stepped forward, advancing on the vampire. “So you want to drink my blood, do you?” She was now within arm’s length of the vampire.

The vampire tilted his head in puzzlement at her, but said nothing. He was clearly trying to understand her game.